MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. Russia consistently supports efforts to reach a fair resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with international law, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

In a message to participants in an international seminar in support of peace between Palestinians and Israelis, Lavrov said: "Mutually acceptable agreements should ensure creation of an independent, territorially integral and viable Palestinian state that would co-exist in peace and security with Israel."

Russia welcomes the Palestinian leadership’s continued willingness to find a negotiated solution to the conflict, said the message, read out by Alexander Pankin, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of International Organisations.

Lavrov pointed to the fact that "in recent months, the head of the new Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu, has spoken twice in favour of a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem".

"We hope that this position will be followed up with practical steps," the top diplomat said.

Russia "will continue seeking a renewal of talks both between the two sides and at various platforms, mainly in the format of the international Quartet of Middle East peace mediators," Lavrov said.

"We should focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip, whose population still have to face serious humanitarian difficulties," he said, noting the need for steps aimed at "lifting or at least easing the blockade".

"The attainment of Palestinian national sovereignty serves the interests of the international community and will help strengthen peace and stability in the region," Lavrov added.